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Monday, Nov. 7, 2022

Can Arizona candidates demand a recount of election results?

Ngan Nguyen, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
no

Candidates or members of the public cannot request a recount according to Arizona state law.

An automatic recount of ballots is triggered when the margin between two candidates is less than or equal to 0.5% of the total votes cast for the top two candidates.

A law passed in 2022 changed the recount threshold in Arizona. Previously, a recount would be triggered at a 0.1% vote margin between two candidates. The Secretary of State’s office warns that more contests may be subjected to the recount process this year due to the new law.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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